The fact is the van was taken to three different facilities that specialize in van modifications. All three of them insisted there was nothing wrong with the bolts at the end of the lift. However, if nothing else, this has certainly provided more awareness, causing members to become more safety conscious, and many people no longer zipping out on the platform, expecting the lip guard to stop the wheelchair.
Additionally, it is very important that if you use a left that operates with two doors folding down together, be certain to check the "pin" is locked in the middle of the lift correctly before entering the platform. It could save injury and even save your life!
(Julia Hollenbeck)
Faulty Wiring?
Granted, there were now over 70 thousand miles on the modified van, but when the electronic equipment was installed, there were only 25 thousand miles on it.
Vans are considered to provide a minimum of 150 thousand miles and as much or more than 200 thousand miles with normal wear and tear, scheduled maintenance, and timely oil changes.
When the modifications were performed on the vehicle, a "lifetime warranty" was given for major components such as the steering, specialized hand controls, and wiring performed by the modifier.
Over the past few years, a variety of malfunctions were experienced, but continued to be steadfast, using the vehicle to the fullest ability of driving capabilities.
When considering the extensive electronic modifications to this particular vehicle were made beginning in the fall of 1997, dividing the number of months with the miles accumulated, the end result gives approximately 12,000 miles per year.
This is considered to be normal, average on any vehicle, so surprise at seeing dark gray smoke pouring from the passenger side of the dash board was fairly alarming.
The above photo provides the remnants of the wires that had literally caught on fire due to a connection that developed corrosion, and ultimately began over heating the wires.
This particular wiring provided electrical power to the front air conditioning system.
Had the smoke not been seen, the vehicle could have ultimately gone up in flames.
A Hazard with Rotating Seat Bases
Rotating or six-way electric driver seats can become a real hazard if attention is not periodically paid to the wiring that makes the mechanism work.
These seats are operable by two important factors: fuses and wires. If a fuse burns out, your seat base will not lower, raise, or turn.
If a wire becomes smashed, it will short circuit the fuse causing your seat to be inoperable.
The photo on the right provides a perfect example of wires that were cut causing this seat to become a dangerous situation and possibly even a fire.
Strangely enough, it happened not once to this seat, but twice.
In the lower highlighted portion of the photograph, the bulky wires show re-wrapping of repaired wires.
In the upper left corner, if you look closely, you will notice new wires exposed from casing that was again cut.
This environmental hazard was caused by the brace beneath the driver's seat that allows the seat to lower and raise with a mechanism that reacts like a scissor.
The brace (or scissor) literally cut the casing around the wires exposing them. Had the exposed wires not been noticed, one of two things would have eventually resulted.
1) A fire could have been caused, or 2) the wiring would have eventually caused a short circuit and the seat would fail to work.
What Does Goodyear Have Over Firestone?
On October 20th, 2000, one hundred miles west of Houston, a strange unfamiliar noise was heard slapping hard against the under side of the chassis.
In about ten miles, the vehicle was stopped in Schulenburg, Texas, to determine what was causing the noise.
The rubber on the right front tire had peeled off and was ready to blow!
This tire was 18 months old and was supposed to have been a 60,000-mile tread tire.
There were less than 20,000 miles on the tires when the rubber had peeled off the right front tire, leaving a large gaping hole and the inside casing exposed to the pavement on the street.
As the chunks of rubber split away from the tire, it broke the outside belt leaving the inside belt loose from the casing, barely hanging on, by the time the vehicle was able to pull-off the highway at an exit.
This happening placed both driver and passenger in a very dangerous position.
Had the vehicle not been stopped, the tire would definitely have blown, potentially causing loss of control of the vehicle, injuring or killing both driver and the passenger.
This tire was a Regatta made by Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.
It was supposed to have been a 60,000 mile tread tire.
It was purchased on April 16, 1999 and the warranty expired in 18 months.
The tire was returned to the store where it was purchased, and the owner was told the tire was defective.
The next day the store offered $10.11 for it. The owner called Goodyear.
At first they offered $26 and then rose that figure to $49.52.
All four tires were changed out to a more suitable tire for the weight of the vehicle and equipment carried.
Much to my satisfaction, the store manager, Louis Watkins, provided me with Customer Service for the safety of my travel and additionally gave me the full benefit of warranty on the tire exchange.
As I drove away from this Goodyear Tire Store, I discovered an immediate difference in the handling of my vehicle and realized there are still proprietors who have their focus on customer safety and satisfaction.
Wheel Me On...is proud to include this store as a reliable source for Goodyear tires.
Julia Hollenbeck
Goodyear Auto Service Center
11479 Perrin Beitel Road
San Antonio, Texas 78117
Telephone 210-656-3111
Note:
Drivers need to be conscious of any changes in their vehicle performance, especially in vehicles that carry a wheelchair or contain hi-tech equipment or lifts.
Changes in steering, unusual sounds, or barely noticeable wobble's at low speeds need to be investigated by a competent person without delay.
Safety... A Matter of Fact!
The Emergency E-mail Network
The above link
makes locating and receiving critical information more accessible to millions of U. S. citizens. Click on the link to sign up and receive notifications from The Emergency E-mail Network free!.
Theft ~ A Serious Subject
The person who sent the primary information to a member had firsthand knowledge, because his wallet was stolen. Within a week the thieves ordered an expensive monthly cell phone package, applied for a VISA credit card, had a credit line approved to buy a Gateway computer, received a PIN number from DMV to change his driving record information online, and more. Having personally had two experiences, both needless to happen, his advice has been well heeded. The first theft was because of leaving a handbag in a vehicle, the second, carelessly leaving a service station credit card inside a vehicle while it was in a repair shop. Here is critical information to limit the damage in case of theft happening with your purse or wallet, to you or someone you know:
Cancel your credit cards immediately, but the key is having the toll free numbers and your card numbers handy so you know whom to call. Keep that information where you can find it easily. The simplest way to do this is by copying the telephone number (usually found on the back of your credit cards), your account number, and name of creditor, down on a piece of paper or adding it to a file in your computer. Copy the file to diskette for safekeeping.
If you are a victim of a theft, file a police report immediately in the jurisdiction where the property was stolen, this proves to credit providers you were diligent, and is a first step toward an investigation (if there ever is one).
The most important thing to do is call the three National Credit Reporting Organizations immediately to place a fraud alert on your name and Social Security number. The person, who informed WMO, had never heard of doing this until advised by a bank that called to tell an application for credit was made over the Internet using his name. The alert means any company that checks your credit knows your information was stolen, and they have to contact you by telephone to authorize new credit. By the time the victim was advised to do this, almost two weeks after the theft, all the damage had been done. Records of all the credit checks initiated by the thieves' purchases are recorded and transactions stopped. In other words, it seems to stop the thief in his or her tracks. The names and telephone numbers are:
Equifax: 1-800-525-6285
Experience (formerly TRW): 1-888-397-3742 7
Trans Union: 1-800-680-7289
The number for the Social Security Administration (fraud line) is 1-800-269-0271
Add your credit card numbers to this list immediately and be sure to call each and every one of your creditors if you become a victim of a theft. It was also suggested that you do not carry your social security card on your person. If it is stolen, someone has full access to you Social Security number! One final thought to remember that as Wheeler's; we have an abundance of places to stash things. Carry only the amount of cash you believe is necessary and do not roll around with your backpack hanging open.
And, what about tall buildings?
September 27, 2001
Gaps Seen in Evacuation for Disabled
NEW YORK (AP)
It's one of the best-known stories of the World Trade Center disaster: Michael Benfante and a friend plucking a woman from her wheelchair in a 68th-floor office and bringing her to safety.
Benfante, 36, recalled that when he encountered the woman, there was a lightweight emergency chair folded up nearby that was designed for getting a disabled person down stairs.
But "nobody was doing anything," he said. So he unfolded the chair and strapped the woman in. While the chair was designed to be mobile, he said he and a friend decided to simply carry her in it because she was light.
Benfante's experience raises a question that extends beyond the Sept. 11 disaster: Just how well prepared are big office buildings to evacuate disabled employees?
It's not clear how common special evacuation provisions for disabled workers are in such buildings. One expert said that concern shouldn't be used to limit where disabled people can work; another recommended that employees with disabilities take an active role in making sure their needs are anticipated.
June Kailes, a Los Angeles consultant on disability issues who works on disaster preparedness, said disabled workers should be involved in drawing up evacuation plans.
"People with disabilities need to be consulted and at the table as these plans are really put together, reviewed and practiced," she said.
Special planning for disabled workers is essentially required under the Americans with Disabilities Act for buildings with evacuation plans, although the act doesn't impose specific requirements, said Larry Perry, author of a building managers guide to emergency planning.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration says employees should be made aware of disabled colleagues who may need extra help in evacuating, possibly through a buddy system.
Perry said he believes most large buildings with evacuation plans have special provisions for the disabled. Those include things like the special emergency chairs for stairs and designating people to help disabled workers.
Edwina Juillet, head of an organization called Fire and Life Safety for Persons with Disabilities, believes many large buildings have such procedures in place.
"But are they universally understood by the people who are going to be affected by them? No," she said. "They're not being rehearsed."
Brian Black, director of building codes and standards for the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association, said his own experience is that while large buildings generally do have evacuation plans, provisions for disabled workers are "hit and miss."
Black says the greater threat to safety for disabled people is the fire danger at home.
"I certainly share the concern of others around the country about keeping people safe no matter where they are, and being disabled shouldn't make any difference," he said. "But the unfortunate thing is we're all looking at this type of problem, when in fact the problem ... is in residential construction."
Marcie Roth, director of advocacy and public policy at the National Council on Independent Living, said plans to evacuate workers with limited mobility could benefit able-bodied people as well, because they may become injured in an emergency.
She also said concern over evacuation safety for disabled people shouldn't be used to limit where they are allowed to work or go.
"Some people have suggested we need to be thinking about who works on what floors. I think that's ridiculous," Roth said.
"We have lots and lots of tall buildings in this country. Assisting people out of those tall buildings is a challenge, but it's not a challenge that's specific to people with disabilities."
On the Net:
Federal publication, "Emergency Procedures for Employees with Disabilities in Office Occupancies"
Red Cross information
Disaster preparedness information for people with disabilities
Report, "Disaster Mitigation for Persons with Disabilities"
AP-NY-09-27-01 0202EDT
Just Exactly How Safe Are Air Bags?
Air Bags have killed over 170 persons in automobile accidents at speeds that should have produced only minor injuries or no injuries at all.
This information comes from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute.
Thousands more have been injured by direct action of the "protective" air bags.
Secondly, air bags are deployed by sodium azide, an extremely poisonous chemical agent that is equivalently toxic with sodium cyanide.
Both azides and cyanides act as cytochrome oxidase inhibitors.
Both chemicals form airborne acid gases (hydrogen azide and hydrogen cyanide) that penetrate the intact skin upon exposure to moisture.
When an airbag explodes, drivers have just been punched in the face and chest by a 200 mile-per-hour airbag (hard enough to break the skull, neck, and ribs and also to rupture the liver, lungs, heart, and aorta), poisoned by residual azide chemicals, and suffocated from displacement of oxygen by the nitrogen gas released from the airbag inside a confined space.
To avoid these serious adverse effects, I recommend that future air bags be deployed only by breathing grade compressed air, and that they be controlled by a "smart" dedicated computer chip that carefully regulates the bag deployment according to accident conditions and position of the occupants.
David T. Killough CIH CSP CHMM MSIH
Due to the safety issues stated in Mr. Killough's letter, we recommend people with cervical spinal cord injuries or other disabilties that could be affected by an airbag's release, seek information to have their airbag removed from their vehicle.
A possible place to start would be by asking your physician for a prescription to have it removed by the manufacturer of your vehicle or other professional.
Van Parking
(Revised 2005)
Millions of Americans now travel using mobility aids, including wheelchairs, scooters, powerchairs, etc. Accessible parking continues to become a rare commodity, but even more so for vans with lifts.
When traveling with a mobility aid, persons with disabilities are often stopped in mid-track by individuals parking in accessible parking spots that they do not need.
Take a look at any parking lot and you will find many spaces for persons who are able bodied, perhaps several for standard accessible parking (cars), but only one or two for the wheelchair patron using a van with a lift.
Guess who is parking in Van Accessible Parking Spots. Think about it.
The forces of persons with disabilities have become stronger, more are outside in society using wheelchairs than ever before, but they are still a minority.
Sadly, persons without disabilities and even persons who are disabled, have no idea what it means to use a wheelchair and many of them park their vehicles in "accessible van parking" spots who are not driving a van with a lift.
Individual States set guidelines for laws to enforce the federal code, however, few of these laws are enforced when a person parks a regular automobile illegally in a van accessible spot intended for vans with lifts, even though the patron may not even need the wheelchair access.
This is a SERIOUS problem! The law does specify that improper use of a parking space or blockage of a curb ramp designed for individuals with disabilities is a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine.
Some states have fines as high as over $500.
People who use a wheelchair or other mobility aid with wheels and a seat, require eight feet of additional space for the operation of a van with a side lift to enable exiting and re-entering their vehicle.
Parking spaces are posted with a sign stating "Van Accessible" and have a striped 96-inch area clearly marked (to prevent vehicles from parking in it) next to the parking space to allow them adequate room.
These parking areas, marked with striped areas wider than the 60-inch accessible parking space for cars, pick-up trucks, etc., are obvious.
And now, there is THIS! New parking signs cleary state:
"PARKING FOR VANS WITH LIFTS"
If You Park In A Space Intended For Vans
You may make a dangerous situation for someone in a wheelchair by forcing that person to park elsewhere, wheel through a parking lot behind cars,
and risk their life in back of drivers who cannot see them.
Please Be Considerate of People Using Wheelchairs!
Do NOT Park in Van Accessible Parking Areas if You Do NOT Use a Van with a Wheelchair Lift!
THANK YOU!
